Systematically Shortchanged, Yet Carrying On

Abstract

School reform policies, such as the closure of “low-performing” schools and the competitive introduction of school choice and charters, were presented to communities of color as the fix to educational inequities and the lifeline needed for urban Black students to have a chance at a quality education and social mobility. The ways in which reforms have under-delivered on this promise, and in some cases exacerbated negative academic outcomes, particularly for Black boys, are documented. Yet, research on the experience of Black adolescent girls is sparse. We explore ways that policies aimed at delivering a school choice environment have affected daily life for Black adolescent girls. We examine this issue in the context of the Detroit metropolitan area with Black adolescent girls, reflecting on their high school education experiences that spanned a time-period of rapid transitions in the schooling environment (2014–2016) prompted by a series of school reforms in Michigan. Through in-depth interviews we found that girls sought to invest in their high school education as a path to college; yet the very reforms advanced as ways to clear this path hindered their ability to spend time on the human and social capital activities believed to be important to their academic success and social mobility. Our findings suggest advantages for those students with proximal access to high quality neighborhood schools cannot be replicated in a choice environment. There may also be health consequences of the coping strategies girls are compelled to employ to carry on under adverse educational circumstances.

“They Do Us Wrong”: Bringing Together Black Adolescent Girls’ Voices on School Staff’s Differential Treatment

“…This included 10 direct quotes from 8 data sources. In these direct quotes, Black adolescent girls described being treated differently based on something individualized and personal (Evans et al, 2019; Gibbs Grey & Harrison, 2020; Joseph et al, 2016; King, 2017; Murphy et al, 2013; O’Connor, 1997; O’Connor et al, 2011; Watson, 2016). Black adolescent girls reported staff’s behavior being guided by a perception that they were a “good” or “bad” student and they observed staff engaging with them negatively in contrast to other students.…”

“…I got close to the main people so if anybody ever tried to give me trouble, they’d be like, “No, I know her. She’s not like that” (Evans et al, 2019, p. 371).…”

“…I looked across the quotes from the different treatment types for anything that spoke to elements that followed experiences of differential treatment. Based on what was arising, I also explored data that captured the impact differential treatment had on youth (e.g., the co-occurrence of "different treatment" with Chivonn, high schooler, city resident, had been at 2 Detroit public neighborhood schools and a Detroit public magnet school (Evans et al, 2019) Hazel, a 9th grader from a school district in the southeastern US that was in a small metropolitan area with a majority of White residents (Gadson and Lewis, 2021) Gia, a 9th grader and Mia, a friend at the same school from a school district in the southeastern U.S. that was in a small metropolitan area with a majority of White residents (Gadson and Lewis, 2021) Alexa, an 11th grader from a school district in the southeastern US that was in a small metropolitan area with a majority of White residents (Gadson and Lewis, 2021) Kiki, a 9th grader from a school district in the southeastern US that was in a small metropolitan area with a majority of White residents (Gadson and Lewis, 2021) Felisha, a 9th grader taking no honors classes at a diverse high school in a middle class neighborhood in California near an urban center (Gast, 2018) Shantel, a 7th grader at a diverse urban Midwestern middle school (Gibbs Grey and Harrison, 2020) A 12 year old girl in a predominantly youth of color school that's 45% Black in a metropolitan area in Minnesota (Gibson et al, 2019) Jamilia, an 11 year old 6th grader at a 46% Black/54% White school in Southeastern US (Harrison, 2017) Jurea, a 6th grader at an independent African-centered school in Illinois (Henry, 1998) Afua, a 6th grader at an independent African-centered school in Illinois (Henry, 1998) Kyra, a senior at a predominantly White private college preparatory school in California (Horvatt and Antonio, 1999) Pamela, a senior at a predominantly White private college preparatory school in California (Horvatt and Antonio, 1999) Vantrice, a 12th grader with a 2.8 GPA at Ridge High School, a diverse urban high school with a segregated international baccalaureate program in Texas (Joseph et the "behavioral response to student-staff interactions"). I consulted extant literature to make meaning of the process of differential treatment.…”